The Burnt Part Boys

[WickedlyEdna1962]

Posted: 5/1/10 at 11:54am

I saw The Burnt Part Boys last night at Playwrights Horizons and completely loved it. Has anyone else seen it? Thoughts?

[rmusic11322]

Posted: 5/1/10 at 11:56am

Could you tell me what the show is about? The one on their website is too vague.

Posted: 5/1/10 at 12:06pm

Also, Wickedly, is there anything in the show that would earn it an "R" if it were a film?

[WickedlyEdna1962]

Posted: 5/1/10 at 12:43pm

It's a musical about a sons mission to stop the re-opening of a coal mine where his father was killed. The story follows this son (Pete) and also his brother (Jake) who is trying to stop Pete from going up to the mine. The music and story was really good. It was really an amazing "ghost story" musical- very eerie but beautiful all the same.

As far as a "rating" goes, I don't specifically remember anything that would make it anything above PG-13.

[Kad]

Posted: 5/1/10 at 4:40pm

I saw it this summer at Vassar and thought it was a very strong piece. Can't wait to see what work they've done on it- and I'm glad to see they've kept some of the cast.

[gcontini2]

Posted: 5/1/10 at 5:22pm

Sorry to disagree, but I saw it last night, too, and thought it was dreadful.

The story is quite flimsy and not compelling, but the score is drab and amateurish, a kind of poor-man's version of Adam Guettel's Floyd Collins (which I do appreciate). I had to keep remembering that I wasn't at some last-minute, run-of-the-mill New York Musical Festival entry (the kind you struggle not to fall asleep in after the first 10 minutes)

I went with several people - all of whom see a lot of theater and who had high expectations for this, myself included - and all of whom independently came out scratching their heads wondering how this could have come this far with all the hype it has had. At the very least, it needs to be severely edited down to a 90 minute piece...and even then I'm not sure whether this show knows what it wants to be about.


Updated On: 5/1/10 at 05:22 PM

[uniqueid]

Posted: 5/1/10 at 5:43pm

^ I have to agree. The show was absolutely dreadful. The book was an uneven, tone deaf piece chock full of tired character types and cliches ("I won't let you go alone.") and the score... I swear they just played one song over and over again. I know they just started previews, but the flaws in this show aren't ones that can be fixed by opening... it would need to be scrapped and overhauled.

It's a shame, I really wanted to like it and the charming cast almost convinced me. Highlight of the show? Michael Park, as the various Alamo heroes. Hilarious and wonderful vocal control.

Point is, save your money. I'm lucky I just used my flexpass for this one.

[JMPlayer6]

Posted: 5/1/10 at 6:00pm

I am seeing it next weekend.

[bwaycrazy24]

Posted: 5/2/10 at 8:16pm

There was so much positive buzz about this show... I was expecting this unbelievable and memorable score...Wow, was I disappointed... Not only that, I found myself covering my ears throughout most of it. Who the heck wrote the music? Simply awful... Like bad folksy/Adam Guettel. I wish I could say better things. I agree, save your money.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 5/3/10 at 5:23pm

I actually liked the score quite a bit, but found the show to be too long. There was not enough plot for the length; this really needs to be 90 minutes with no intermission.

I saw the workshop production at the Vineyard when Will Chase was still in the show and think it has improved since then. The opening book scene sets up the conflict in a much better fashion than before. The "movie scenes" with Michael Park didn't seem as random and out of place as they did before; I actually saw the connection to what was going on with Al Calderon's character this time.

The main problem is too much time is spent on the boys' journey to the burnt part. Plus the intermission doesn't really have much dramatic purpose. There isn't much suspense for the audience to return and find out what happens.

What made the evening worth it to me were the performances and the score. The guy who played Tennessee in Yank! has an amazing voice, and his duets with Al Calderon's brother show off some wonderful harmonies. If there was a cast recording I think I'd listen to it often, but wouldn't necessary need to go back and see the show again, if that makes any sense.

[Kevn520]

Posted: 5/5/10 at 11:43pm

I know this show is still in previews, but this has to be one of the most dreadful things I've seen in a while. gcontini2 and uniqueid pretty much said what I would have said.

By the end of Act 1 I felt that the show had gone nowhere. If anything, it needs to be pared down to 90 minutes to prevent people from leaving. It was obvious that many people chose not to suffer through Act 2. I don't know how much can be fixed before the official opening night.

I do give the actor that played Pete a lot of credit. He did a phenomenal job with his material. I remember him from '13' and am curious to see what kind of acting career he'll have.

If you must see this, definitely go for the $15 student tickets.

Playwrights Horizons has been very hit or miss for me over the last few seasons, with mostly misses. One notable exception was 'Dead Man's Cell Phone' by Sarah Ruhl.

[JMPlayer6]

Posted: 5/10/10 at 10:35am

Having seen this Saturday night (5/8/10): I have to agree with the negative comments. I really expected better. The music is indeed uneven at best. And the whole John Wayne/Alamo/Davy Crokettt thing ... ???

I will say this: I saw a lot of talent up there on the stage. I had seen "13" also and recognized the actor playing Pete. The other main actors were very good too, and there are some possible careers in the making here. But the play itself? There's a good story in there, but the execution of it needs some further work.

[Holbee]

Posted: 5/10/10 at 3:25pm

MINOR SPOILERS>

The story kind of reminded me of those Disney films of the early 60's. Very family-friendly, except for an ambiguous "ghost" climax, which I think was meant to be more a "Sunday in the Park..." type of impressionistic ending but was just downright confusing. The score was of-a-piece but not incredibly memorable. I'm also confused at the amount of development and buzz this show has had about it for the last year or so...

[Kevn520]

Posted: 5/10/10 at 3:49pm

I'm also confused at the amount of development and buzz this show has had about it for the last year or so...

This has apparently been in development for a couple of years now and this is the end result?

[dramamama611]

Posted: 5/10/10 at 4:32pm

I saw this on Saturday. Didn't care for it. AT ALL. The music was redundant, and the story was not riveting. It did not to be a full length show....it lack sophisticaton and complication.

I thought the ending was incredibly cheesey and void of emotion. That being said, there was a good deal of talent on the stage.

I wouldnt be able to reccommend this to anyone.

Updated On: 5/11/10 at 04:32 PM

[TimesSquared]

Posted: 5/11/10 at 12:20am

The Burnt Part Boys songs I've heard online sound remarkably (and I mean, remarkably) similar to Adam Guettel's music for Floyd Collins...right down to the unusual time signatures, the instrumentation, the vocal harmonies, even the little bluegrassy vocal riffs Floyd and Homer do...
AND it concerns being underground (miners instead of cavers)...
AND it's a story of two brothers...
AND it's at Playwrights Horizons...

That said, I liked what I heard (if only because it sounded so much like Floyd Collins).

[jsg03jd]

Posted: 5/11/10 at 5:00am

Is the show THAT bad that it can't be "fixed" before it opens? This is still in previews, right?

[dramamama611]

Posted: 5/11/10 at 6:07am

They'd have to make some pretty major changes...imo. Like add interest.

[bwaycrazy24]

Posted: 5/11/10 at 11:33pm

I recently found Miller and Tysen's website and it says they are writing Tuck Everlasting... Weren't Thomson and Mann writing that? Thomson and Mann's demo was just perfection especially the song "Seventeen". I'd hate the music to be any different... Anyone?

[Kevn520]

Posted: 5/12/10 at 1:38am

According to http://thomsonandmann.com/wordpress/?page_id=34 they don't own the rights to Tuck Everlasting.